Paul McCartney plays the first of two nights in Sao Paulo at Morumbi Stadium.

Last night I saw Paul McCartney! But the adventure started bright and early, because we had to line up in the morning if we wanted a good spot on the Morumbi Stadium lawn. So, to make a long story short, we baked in the sun on the sidewalk outside the stadium from 10am until about 5:30pm when they opened the doors, and then we baked some more until the show started at 9:30pm. You’d think it would have cooled off by then, and maybe it did, but you really don’t feel it when you’re surrounded by almost 64,000 other people. But I’ve got to say, all the discomfort washed away when Sir Paul hit the stage. And he sure knows how to pick the right songs to play. (With such a huge catalog to choose from, I’ve always wondered how he makes his set list.) He sang everything from “Hey Jude” and “Eleanor Rigby,” to “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” and “Live and Let Die” (complete with fireworks shooting from the top of the stage — did I mention that it’s an open-roof stadium?). And even though a lot of people here don’t speak English, everyone in the place knew every word to every song. (My favourite moments were his tributes to John, George and Linda.) McCartney even learned some Portuguese, and not just “hello” and “thank you.” With two encores, it was a three-hour show, but it sure didn’t feel like it. It’s hard to describe his show in words, so I’ll just say this: If you get the chance to see him, do it. (Even if you don’t get to pee from 1oam to 2:30am, it’s worth it.)

(It was pretty much impossible to take pictures from where I was standing in the middle of the crowd, so check out the nice ones Lucas Lima took for UOL here. And this is another awesome site all about Paul in Brazil, including the set list of the show I saw, all in a compilation of videos.)